Quick Review of this Week's New Release List (5-31-7)

Like Kobe Bryant, the Quick Review would like to demand a trade, but no other comics blog could meet our salary demands (five quality frozen pizzas a week - mmmm!).

Let's get to the comics.

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The unwashed publishing masses have a full slate for your consumption this week:

• Wave Blue World Inc. is releasing Adrenaline #4 (of 8). As usual, the Quick Review knows nothing about this comic but likes the company name suggesting Brave New World (that's not a pun or an anagram - what would you call that?).

• Ka Comics bring us Miscellaneous Adventures of Stykman #2. I'm sure that's supposed to be pronounced "stickman," but when I look at it I think "stike-man" for some reason.

• Ape Entertainment has Black Coat or Give Me Death #1 (of 4), about which we know nothing and can't really begin to guess from that title.

• They also have them some White Picket Fences #1 (of 3), about which we also know nothing, but this doesn't even sound interesting (unless Tom Skerritt shows up as the sheriff or something).

• Arcana Studio is bringing Philly #1, the first issue of a new series about a city of rabid sports fans plagued by consistently underachieving and heartbreaking teams (heh!).

• Bluewater Productions is shipping Ray Harryhausen Presents Wrath of the Titans #1 (of 4). I'd be a lot more excited about this if it were a miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel or something, but it's hard to imagine what difference Ray Harryhausen's presenting is gonna make to a comic book (unless it's a fummeti of cheesy posed actors Photoshopped into panels with Ray's signature miniature monsters -- that I would be all over).

• They also have something called Vss Nemesis Rising #1 (of 5), which we're guessing is probably supposed to be "Vs. Nemesis Rising," although we still would have no idea what it's about.

• Broadsword Comics gives us the unbridled joy that is Tarot Witch of the Black Rose #44. I like the name of the company, but what impresses the Quick Review here is that we have a comic that has, apparently, shipped 43 previous issues (and must, we assume, therefore have a dedicated audience of some sort), and yet we have no recollection of ever having seen it or heard of it. Obviously it sounds to us like some sort of fantasy/mystical thing. The only real question is how much skin does Tarot Witch show? [Checks online] Yow! This one's for Mature Readers Only, kids.

• Dynamite Entertainment is bringing the resolicited Boys #7, which of course is about a small town that becomes isolated and overrun by boys hatched from eggs.

• Antagraphics is shipping Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Worse SC. I didn't know Antagraphics was going to be publishing Civil War collections. (*rim shot!*)

Dark Horse Comics also has a full slate this week:

• Conan Volume 4: The Hall of the Dead HC. How long until the softcover version?

• Hellboy: Darkness Calls #2. Is Mignola writing and drawing this one at least?

• Penny Arcade Volume 4: Birds are Weird TPB. Who doesn't like Penny Arcade? (Which now guarantees a minimum of at least four "I don't like Penny Arcade" comments.)

• Shaman Warrior Volume 3 TPB. Great name for a comic. It's a manga thing about "the Shaman Warriors of Kugai [...] a dying breed of disturbingly powerful, mystical killing machines" (according to the Dark Horse website). Sounds fun. Anyone here read this?

• Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collection Volume 4--Jango Fett/Zam Wesell HC. Now there's two characters who need a collection.

• Usagi Yojimbo #103, which the Quick Review continues to endorse and recommend.

DC Comics has a short shift this week:

• Some stuff the Quick Review doesn't read or particularly care about: Action Comics #850, Blue Beetle #15, Deadman #10, Green Lantern #20, and Hawkgirl #64.

• Justice Society of America #6. Is this the last of the issues in the Legion of Super-Heroes storyline? I hope so, because the presence of the Legion aside, these League and Society issues have been insufferably dull reads.

• Teen Titans #47 and Teen Titans Go #43. Guess which one the Quick Review recommends?

Image Comics has a small lineup this week as well. In fact, nothing the Quick Review thinks is worth mentioning, but since we don't want to blank Image we'll break down and point out:

• Negative Burn #11. The Quick Review knows nothing about this title, but it has a cool name.

Marvel Comics continues their campaign of not respecting your intelligence:

• Avengers Next Rebirth TPB. Again? How many times are you gonna rebirth these guys?

• Civil War Companion TPB. Uh-huh.

• Mjolnir Hammer of Thor Prop Replica, $350.00. Three-hundred-and-fifty bucks for a toy hammer!! (I'd pay maybe ten bucks for a cool solid foam version of Mjolnir, though.)

• New Avengers Illuminati #3 (of 5). Please, I need more panels of characters sitting around talking while Tony points out that he's a futurist.

• Silver Surfer Requiem #1 (of 4). You keep using that word. I don't think it means quite what you think it means.

• Spider-Man Fairy Tales #1. This at least sounds kind of fun.

And finally, it's time for the QUICK REVIEW RANDOM COMIC SPOTLIGHT! Huzzah!

Bloodfire Studios: Intergalactic #1

The Quick Review likes most things "intergalactic," but let's see what this really is. Is it a professional-quality project by experienced peeps who know what they're about, an amateurish offering, or more manga? We'll find out.

Bloodfire Studios has a nice, professional website, which is always pleasant to discover when one is hunting down info on new titles (or at least, titles that are new to you). And even more happiness-inducing, there's a logo, link, and capsule description right on Bloodfire's front page:

WANTED! 19 year old, biogenetically altered, corporate infiltrator. Should have quick wit, penchant for getting into trouble, and short temper. Must be house trained. Sense of humor a plus.

Uniform two sizes too small and arsenal of large weapons provided.

Hmmm..."uniform two sizes too small" -- what are the odds that our 19-year-old biogenetically altered corporate infiltrator is female? Gee, I wonder. Well, let's click on the link and see how much boobage we're talking about.

A lot. What a surprise. Also, more info:

A soldier; a spy; an assassin; a shopaholic, Alyssia Sentropy is the best killing machine money can buy. The future is ugly, slimy, laden in advertising, and filled with scumbags. It's Alyssia's job to deal with the run of the mill space pirates, hover-bike gangs, and interdimensional flesh-eating carnival slugs, but her job just got more interesting. Now's she's faced with an ancient and supernatural cult of assassins as dark and powerful as the depths of a supermassive black hole, and they've got a thing for seeing her dead...

As opposed to the teeny black holes one normally encounters. Anyway, it sounds fun enough if (a) it rises above its Buffy-riffing roots, (b) the writer is actually funny (the law of averages dictates: probably not), and (c) it rises above the collection of standard space opera clichés mentioned here (the law of averages further dictates: probably not). Still, you never know.

They have twelve pages from the first issue online here. The painted art is very, very nice. And while Alyssia shows plenty of cleavage and her midriff, she's otherwise fully clothed (meaning: she's actually wearing full pants and not bikini bottoms or a thong, which, sadly, makes her costume practically conservative by modern American comic book standards).

Also sadly, the thumbnail pages are small and not easily read. I did the squint and get my face up close to the screen for a few minutes but that got old real fast. Anyway, typical first-person narrative captioning is used, the dialogue is trying to be funny but not everyone can be Joss Whedon (or even Peter David), but otherwise it seems to read well enough. Opens with your standard "hero gets the drop on some scumbags and kills some to demonstrate how badass he/she is" scene (only a little weakly-staged action here, though) followed by your standard exposition dump to establish the story world. After that she goes (via a red sixties-era convertible that can fly through space) to what appears to be her mentor, more info dumping, talk talk talk.

Anyway, the whole thing looks professionally done, has very nice artwork, but nothing about the setting, story, or characters jumps out at me. Still, this may hit the sweet spot for some of you, so if it sounds interesting, check it out.

And that's it for the Quick Review this week. As always, let us know what you think, what you know, and what you like (or don't like).

Posted by Chris M. at May 31, 2007 12:22 PM